If We Were Having Coffee

This is a blog topic which has been floating around the blogosphere for a few years now. (I think I first saw it on Mr. Thomas and Me, but I know a ton of other bloggers have used it and I'm not sure if she was the first to!) I've always loved this topic and format to share some thoughts I've been having lately. 

If we were having coffee... My drink of choice would probably be a blonde vanilla latte. Yup, I'm totally jumping on that Starbucks bandwagon with their blonde espresso. It's delicious.

If we were having coffee... I'd tell you how I'm still trying to figure out this blog. In some ways I'm really proud of it and where it's going. The layout is the best I've ever had because it looks professional while also reflecting who I am. I love how much more focused the posts are. But, I look at them and sometimes I think "I don't talk like that. Who talks like that?" As much as I want to be professional and talk about writing and books and everything... I want to be myself too. My favorite blogs are always the ones where I feel like I actually know the person who's writing. I want to be the same way. Even with my Flash Fiction Fridays I'm having doubts. I've really started to love writing these short stories, it's challenging me, and the characters I've been able to create are dear to my heart. My most recent story, has been one of my favorites and most personal to me so far. I'm so proud of it. But the amount of views it's had is rather sad. While I know it's not about the amount of views something has, it is discouraging. I'm not sure what to do about it. 

If we were having coffee... I'd talk about how truly awful online dating is. There are a lot of apps and websites who are working hard to improve things so people aren't getting unwanted messages as often. (OKCupid just updated their messaging system that I'm pretty happy about.) But, it still just sucks. First, you have the plain old jerks and creepers. Once you weed them out, you have the guys who have no clue how to hold a conversation. Once you weed them out, there's the ones who seem like good men... but soon you realize they're just jerks in disguise. I'm exhausted. But, I've had some fascinating conversations about all of this lately, that will probably result in some blog posts. So, at least there's that?

If we were having coffee... I'd share how my niece is already 2 months old, and still completely adorable. She's super "talkative" and always makes all of these noises like she wants to be part of the conversation. I love it! 

If we were having coffee... I'd talk about how I'm not sure what to do about church at the moment. The service I've been attending since college (regularly in college, then when I'd come visit the years I lived in Missouri, then officially joined as a member when I moved back to Chicago) closed it's doors December 31st. The "main campus" which hosted the service is still open, and my membership is there. I want to try to continue to go there because I love the congregation. But I also wonder if this is a sign for me to find another place to go. Particularly one closer to home. Yet, I do like the congregation, and I end up working on almost every Sunday morning anyway which prevents me from attending anywhere. So... maybe I need to just not worry about it. But I've never not had a "home base" for Sundays mornings before on the rare occasions I can attend. This is weird for me. 

If we were having coffee... My shallow and materialistic side would come out and I'd probably be gushing about the Pandora bracelet I got for Christmas. I'm slightly obsessed and am always paging through the catalog and website looking at charms. I know.. it's ridiculous. But I can't help it! It's just so pretty and shiny!

If we were having coffee... I'd talk about how finishing the rough draft of Vampire Snow White isn't going quite as I had hoped. I think my month-long break in December did more harm than good because now I can't get back into the swing of writing regularly. It's not like I'm not thinking about it or working on it. I am. I've done some brainstorming, world building, and had a couple break-throughs. All of this totally counts and is great! But, actual words on the page? Not so much. 

If we were having coffee, what would you order? What would you tell me about your life lately?

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Life at 29... +2

There's something about my birthday which makes me motivated to do ALL OF THE THINGS. Like updating my blog, changing how I subscribe to my favorite blogs, and completely redoing my Facebook page. Maybe the thought of getting older makes feel as though I need to be productive and show "YES! I am doing things with my life!"

Who knows? But, here I am, exactly a month after my last blog post, I'm writing again. Which is better than the several months or even a year between blog posts. Progress!

As I was catching up on bloggers I used to follow almost religiously but have fallen by the wayside, I decided that if I do want to blog again, I should maybe give you an update on my life. 

My most recent selfie, taken a couple of days ago when I went to go see The King and I. 

Honestly? My life doesn't look a whole lot different than it did when I blogged regularly. 

I'm still working the front desk at a hotel. I different hotel now, I switched in April, but it's the same corporation and position, just a different location. This one is closer to home and the commute is infinitely better. 

I'm also still living with my parents - which I honestly don't mind. We're helping each other out, and I like that I can be so close to them, and my sister and brother-in-law come by all of the time. It also doesn't hurt that my dog, Bandit, always has someone to keep him company.

Yes, Bandit is still doing well and is as awesome as ever. He's even starting to get along with the cat, Peanut.

Speaking of family - my sister and her husband are expecting their first child! This is the biggest news in my family's life, and we're ridiculously excited. They are finding out the gender today (it's a girl!) and we can't wait. Life has been filled with baby shower planning, visits to Babies R Us, and searching Etsy for the cutest clothes.

I'm still reading an obscene amount of books. I had created a goal to actually read less this year because I wanted more balance to my life so I could spend time with family and friends and work on other things. Since I am currently on my 54th book of the year... I'm not sure how successful I've been in this goal. 

I've been attempting online dating - and it hasn't gone well and recently deleted one of the apps and have felt like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. I might do a blog or vlog series on it. We'll see.

Then there's my writing. I completed the third draft of my novel after having to cut thousands upon thousands of words to make it ready to send out to literary agents. In April, I began querying. Which... has been a learning experience. (See my most recent post before this one.) But, I recently found a new critique partner and she and I are working together to figure out what's going wrong with my pages and why agents aren't biting. (And I'm reading and sending feedback on the manuscript she's currently working on.) She's been amazing so far and SO helpful. 

In the meantime, I was trying to work on a new novel to distract myself from all of my literary agent rejections. It worked... kind of. Then, around the time I was getting started at my new hotel, I hit a writing wall. Not writer's block per say, because I had a general idea of what I wanted to write. But I couldn't find the motivation and each time I sat down at the computer I couldn't get myself to put words on the page. 

So, I joined a short story contest. I figured having deadlines, a goal, and short story to work on would give me motivation to just get writing again.

It worked. 

You can read it here: http://shortfictionbreak.com/summer-17/ and find the story "Mixed Drinks by Emily Hornburg." The stories are organized by author last name. It's not the best one of the bunch I'm sure, especially since this was my first attempt at such a short story. (Our limit was 1000 words!) But, it was a good exercise for me and gave me inspiration for other short stories. The winners won't be announced for awhile yet as the judges are still reading all of the submissions, but you can vote for readers choice and read all of them. 

Now, I'm working on my next novel, which is a fairy tale mash-up and I'm excited to finally be making progress on it.

Honestly - that's about it. I'm impressed I was able to find so much to say! I would love to hear what's going on in your life and... maybe it'll be sooner than a month from now when I blog next!

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